For @garglyswoof who asked, I couldn't include dragons but I think I added something almost as good. Inspired by this post.
Step 6 of kcxmas, @klarolineshippersclub.
Warning: Canon-typical violence.
No Light, No Light.
Somewhere in the distance she could hear a star exploding and above, the sky filled with colours of fire and destruction.
It was a canvas of red and oranges and purples, firelights dancing in her line of vision.
Then she was falling, this thing called gravity pulling her weight to an unknown destination until the Earth grew closer and closer, until she fell with a loud thud that rattled the area.
She let out a low guttural moan, every inch of her moving with difficulty and feeling like lead. If she were human, she would've said she was dying.
That train of thought had her frowning, head all foggy from the pain that shook her being, what was she then if not what she'd called human?
“Caroline.”
Startled, she tried to lift her face from the rough ground, the voice familiar. She only spotted shadows floating around feet before her eyes rolled to the back of her head, convulsions raking through her.
“Caroline!”
The voice sounded far away now, like that of a distant dream. Or nightmare, for the flames burning though her and digging at her marrow, her mouth opened in a soundless scream couldn't be anything else.
Unexpectedly, the pain faded away, and she was left with dull senses and aching muscles.
The voice spoke again, this time with a hand on her shoulder, “Caroline, you have to open your eyes.”
She did, bleary and weak, her lashes fluttering open til she was able to see clearly. Those shadows she'd seen clinging to black clothed feet moved with fluidity around her.
A man knelt at her side, looking like he was vaguely concerned with the subtle furrowing of his brows. A blink and she was able to place where she knew those violet eyes and brown skin.
But not something to call the creature in front of her, her mentor. She searched and searched her mind and came up with nothing, every time she tried to grasp on a thread that would lead her to her answer, it'd be cut off and she would be left spiralling.
She could remember naught, but she knew one thing for certain.
“That’s not my name.”
“It is now,” there was no hint of kindness in his tone, but she thought she detected some pity underneath. “Who you were, the life you lived before you got to this world, forget all of it. You need to become someone else, someone better if you want to survive.”
She parted her lips to speak but was cut off.
“You can never utter your name. In this world, names are powerful dangerous things, to mention yours or mine or that of any of our people would have unforeseen consequences.”
The shadows furled and unfurled around her.
“I have to go.” Panic gripped her so tightly she almost choked, but the touch of her mentor became soothing as he ran the palm of his other hand across her forehead. “You'll be alright, my dear. I have no doubt of that. It's such a strange place what’s left of us have found ourselves into but you, I know will thrive the most.”
His cheeks curved in a genuine smile, the first in many centuries that she'd seen. He stood, his height disconcerting from her position then all the shadows engulfed him and he disappeared.
Distinctly, she could hear another star erupting.
It took a few human days before Caroline could support her weight and move from the earth, galaxing spinning out of order.
The world changed, of course it did. The Earth rotated around its axis and civilisations rose and fell. She walked on sea shores and climbed mountains, repeated her new name in her mind as many times as she could to get used to it; Caroline, Caroline, Caroline.
She watched as kings and queens ruled and rebellions sparked, saw human death and plague, learned the taste of despair on her tongue.
But it was discovering what happened to her people, their magic, that had almost destroyed her.
Her people were scattered and lost to realms beyond her, powers almost nullifies from how much was stolen. Those that her mentor had mentioned were stranded on earth as she were, she'd found no clues to.
A smart move on their part, for Caroline had left no trail for anyone to follow herself.
The elders of her kind had grown greedy with their lust for more power, and they’d had no qualms about ripping apart the fabric of existence and putting it back together to suit their tastes. To be caught by them would be the height of idiocy.
Demons were no longer free as they'd once been, their magic bound to bargains and servitude. They had to drive nourishment from mortal blood, and iron burned.
The first time she was forcibly taught what a summoning was, she feasted on the human for days.
It had been delicious.
She groaned at the peek of sunlight in her room, delving deeper under the covers, burrowing in the softness of the bed covers. The twenty first century might be too loud for her but the quality of things more than made up for it.
Her phone alarm beeped but she ignored it, manipulating the device to be silent with her powers; today was her me-day.
A bubble bath, a tiramisu and her favourite novel were to be her only companions and it was an incredibly pleasing prospect.
Unexpectedly, Caroline felt the unyielding pull of a summoning tugging at her. Eyes wide open, she sprang up from the bed, an animalistic growl in her throat; suddenly thirsty for the blood of whoever foolish enough to call her to them.
She lifted the sheets, wanting to go change before she faced the person who decided to ruin her day and subsequently bring about the end of his life, but she stumbled and fell, the pull far too strong as it transported her through space.
Caroline scrambled for bits and pieces of her magic; using it to hide herself from immediate sight when she found herself sprawled over some hardwood floor.
If she ever had the displeasure of meeting The Elders in person, she was going to punch them straight in the face.
She stood up, allowing herself a minute to pick up on clues on where she was, grimacing when she smelled the strong aroma of demonsbane, the tang of iron in the air, the calm of the forest.
Caroline was not in the mood for witches.
After a few minute passing, she let her black bubble slowly fade, seeing a circle of witches around her, spotting three more people in the back. Heads bowed, candles flickering, the witches had their eyes closed with obsidian stones in their hands and she wanted to snort.
How very cliché.
She was pleased by the gasp that followed as soon as they broke out of their trance. She knew what they saw, the illuminated skin and sharp cheekbones, the vibrant blue of her eyes, so vibrant they could be seen light years away, her fangs out, sharp and lethal.
But it was the shadows that her type of demons possessed, enveloping her like fabric, shimmering and infinite in their appearance that made mortal hearts beat rapidly.
“Hmm, so the summoning did work,” a female voice said. Caroline glanced at the group at the back, spotting the blonde. “Looks like you dears are not going to die, today. Pity that.”
The witches gave a collective shudder.
Curiosity welled up within her at the interaction. She'd already seen the daylight rings those three wore - another blond, with a scruff and dangerous eyes and another, dark haired, wearing a suit - but didn't know how to proceed.
Vampires and demons rarely dealt with each other, both too similar, and when they did, witches were most certainly not involved.
She tended to mostly avoid them when she could.
The blond haired man stepped forward, just an inch from the circle.
“What a pleasure to meet you, sweetheart.”
An arched brow was all she bothered with as a response.
She was already missing her bubble bath.
Caroline looked at the man with intrigue, fascinated by the ancient feel to his monster, the other two were old too, but he had a bit of an edge to him.
He smiled as if he knew it.
Clasping her hands behind her back, she circled around in her limited, confined space, noting all the symbols made from salts and stones, the runs carved in the soil.
A particular letter grabbed her attention and she moved as close as she could to get a better look, felt her blood freeze as she read the word.
No. It couldn't be.
It just wasn't possible.
Her magic reacted to her fright, reaching out to the witches and choking their throats. Dimly, she heard the gurgling noises they made, though couldn't find it within her to care.
They'd written her name.
Not her mortal title, not her description but the name she had been called before she was stranded on Earth. The lines scrawled were methodical and elegant but that meant nothing.
All she could hear was her mentor's voice in her ears.
Names are dangerous things.
No wonder the summoning had pulled at her so strongly.
“So Kol had been right,” The blond said from behind her. She whirled to see him standing inside the circle of salt, a satisfied curl to his mouth.
The witches were all dead, bodies thrown haphazardly by the wild burst of her power, blood streaking faces.
She almost reprimanded herself for not making it last longer, wanting to quell the deep anger that was contained inside her. Caroline couldn't hurt the vampires; tethered to the bargain-to-be as they were, but some of the the witches would have done just fine.
“Shame he isn't here to see the fruit of his labour himself,” he continued. “I'll be sure to tell him once we retrieve him from The Other Side.”
Caroline stilled; there was rage there, in his eyes, a fury that spoke to her old forgotten one at losing her entire world.
He picked her hand, bowing to press a gentle kiss before he straightened.
“I'm sure we can come to a mutually beneficial agreement, love. But for now, call me Klaus.”
